32 Latent and Scnii-Latcnt Characters. 



many. It is frequently uncertain, at first at any rate, 

 whether besides the half race, the "species" itself exists 

 in pure condition, that is to say, a race in which the char- 

 acter in question is not semi-latent but latent. But when, 

 as is so often the case, the species is widely distributed 

 but the half race is only observed locally, we are evi- 

 dently fairly safe in assuming the separate existence of 

 both. 



Anomalies which are very common in nature point 

 to the existence of eversporting varieties ; those wdiich 

 are rare, to half races. In the former case they are often 

 reckoned among the characters proper to the species, as 

 for instance the remarkable lateral fruitlets on the fruits 

 of Tctragonia expansa, which were included by De Can- 

 DOLLE in his diagnosis of the species, in his Prodronius.^ 

 Other w^ell-known instances are the incomplete apetaly 

 of Ranunculus auricomns,^ as well as the branched ears 

 of Loliuni perenne raniosuni which seem to be relatively 

 common everywhere in my owni country. Lenecek"'^ 

 records lime-trees with 20-30% of their leaves trans- 

 formed into pitchers ; and with us trees w'ith single 

 pitchers, and others which produce large numbers of 

 them every year are met with from time to time (Vol. I, 

 Fig. 106, p. 470). 



In many cases we know both the half race and the 

 middle race of the same, or of closely related, species. 

 For example, there grows very commonly here a form 

 of Plantago major (/. bracteata) which bears more or 



^ A. DE Candolle, Prodromus Rcgni Vcgetabilis. See also Eich- 

 LER, Bliithcndiagramme, II, p. 120. 



'^Winter, Journ. of Bot., Vol. 35, 1897, P- 406. This form also 

 grows in our garden and in our country in the wild condition, 



' O. Lenecek, Mitth. d. naturw. Vcrcins, Vienna, 1893. Found 

 not far from Leitmcritz. 



